The present invention relates broadly to steam treatment of textile fabrics of indeterminate length and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for steam removal of creases formed in tubular fabric.
Many circular knit fabrics which are produced in tubular form are commonly flattened and wound into rolls for subsequent processing and ultimate shipment to clothing manufacturers for their use. Typically, during the production of tubular fabric, lengthwise creases are formed at diametrically opposed sides in the fabric coming off a knitting machine as the fabric is flattened and rolled. During unwinding and rewinding of the fabric for subsequent processing and finishing, an effort is made to fold the fabric in rewinding along the same creases but, quite often, this objective is not met and new creases are formed alongside the original creases, producing an unsightly appearance to the flattened fabric side edges.
It is known that steam is effective in removing creases from many types of fabrics and a number of apparatus have been proposed for application of steam to an entire piece of tubular fabric as part of the final finishing of such fabrics. However, such apparatus would be unnecessarily wasteful and inefficient to use simply to remove the generally diametrically opposed creases described above.